Riverside County has just 5 COVID patients in ICU, lowest total in more than a year

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- An encouraging milestone in Riverside County - the number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU has fallen to just five, that's the lowest number in more than a year.

According to data released Monday by the Riverside University Health System, 32 people countywide were hospitalized with coronavirus, one more than reported last Friday.

That figure includes five intensive care unit patients, down two from Friday.

MORE | Riverside County doctors treating just 38 COVID cases

Doctors in Riverside County are currently treating just 38 COVID-19 cases, which is the lowest count since the start of the pandemic.

The county's COVID positivity rate was 1.3%, down from 1.5% the previous week, while the state-adjusted case rate was 2 per 100,000 residents, based on a rolling seven-day average, compared to 2.5 per 100,000 last week.

Riverside County entered the orange tier nearly two months ago, removing some operational barriers for private and public entities. The county had been in the red tier since March 16, after five months in the most restrictive purple tier.

This all comes just one week before June 15, which is when Gov. Gavin Newsom's statewide tier assignment system under the "Blueprint for a Safer Economy'' framework is slated to end.

MORE | Loma Linda Medical Center treating zero COVID patients (May 6, 2021)

Loma Linda Medical Center marked a major milestone on Wednesday - which was the first time the facility is treating zero COVID-19 patients since March 2020.

Most distancing and capacity limitations are expected to be rescinded on June 15, with a few restrictions continuing for "mega events,'' defined as indoor concerts with 5,000 or more people, and outdoor gatherings with 10,000 or more attendees.

More than 2 million SARS-Cov-2 vaccine have been administered countywide since December.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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